Ethics for Construction Engineers and Managers in a Globalized Market
Abstract
Ethical decision-making is central to the practice of construction engineering
and management. This is no more evident than in the twenty-first century,
when the construction industry must function in very diverse organizational contexts.
Whilst construction companies pursue projects in international markets, many
investors are buying or forming joint ventures with domestic companies. New
and varied professional attitudes have recently arrived in western markets such
as the United States and Australia because construction companies are increasingly
employing managers from developing nations to undertake commercial and
infrastructure engineering projects. In many developing countries the construction
industry is vulnerable to unethical behavior or corruption – vulnerability in part
because of differences in culture and managerial systems across countries; and
this diversity is manifest in the different perspectives of professional ethics and
professional practice. Importantly, professionals in construction engineering must
be aware of these differences; however current ethics education for engineering
professionals generally lacks global components. In this chapter, emphasis is placed
upon professional registration, including mandatory awareness of professional
ethics, as an imperative for the welfare of world citizens; discussion on the nature
of the construction industry and globalized trends emphasizes why ethics and
professional education must be integrated within civil and construction engineering
and management curricula. Only then we can anticipate an appropriate educational
foundation for professional registration of the international engineer.